Sunday, February 17, 2013

Post-Holiday Ravings

     
Hi, Friends & Fam,

I was feeling like a real slacker posting a Christmas blog in February, but somehow my readers usually turn out to be  even bigger slackers than I am.. that's what prompted me to go ahead and post this blog which I've had half-written since early January.  A certain member of my family  just informed me that  their Christmas tree was taken down yesterday, so I felt empowered.  And just in case you still haven't gotten around to taking those pesky lights off your front porch, sit down, put your feet up, and waste a little time with me.   Why rush into things?

NEWS FLASH!!  Just received a text from Nancy.  Wanna hear it? Here it is:"I only have one bra we need to go shopping soon!" Isn't motherhood grand?  So, if you have any old bras, please send them her way.   Feel free to take her shopping, too.  (Note:  this really annoyed her, so I am doing my motherly job. )

Now, back to Christmas...

  Growing up, my holiday chore included taking drink orders -- iced tea or 7-up (only available on Thanksgiving and Christmas, of course!). Sometimes I also had to unload the dishwasher, but I protested so much about that unfair imposition on my time that I often got out of it.  Consequently, I am totally unqualified to do much of anything but hang around and have a good time.  And I am very good at that.    But a few times a year -- Christmas being one of those times -  I must rise from my chair and attempt to prepare a feast for my family.  Things don't always go smoothly...


   If you are a long time Tiztalk fan, you know that if I were an actress, no one would need to show me how to do pratfalls for the big laugh – I’m a natural. This year at Christmas  I proved my mettle once again. I managed to slosh a batch of defrosted raw turkey blood all over my kitchen counter, my nice Christmas dish towel, and, of course, myself. A little raw poultry juice never hurt anyone, right? Then I almost made it to the fridge without sloshing the red Jello (note: the trick is NOT to look at the pan). However, I blinked or maybe my nose itched; I’ll never know. I lost my concentration and got to clean up red Jello from the fridge drawers, counter, floor, and even from underneath the fridge. But, hey, what else did I have to do on Christmas?
           
Worst of all,  my children had the audacity to complain about their unanimous favorite dessert that I make. As I walked in the door following my 300 mile trip home from Illinois, Molly greeted me with these words: “Mom, there’s hair in the lemon squares.” Mind you, this minor flaw didn’t keep any of them from eating each and every one of them, but they seemed to delight in pulling out a hair each time one was consumed. I’m not quite sure how the hair got in there, but since they made such a big deal out of it, I decided to memoralize it with this little ditty:


To me it’s not fair;
I wasn’t there.
They can’t prove a thing
But their words still sting.
 
I was accosted the moment I walked in the door.
You’d think they’d never seen their mother before. 
They couldn’t wait to fill my ears
with words that might bring other mothers to tears.
 
They gleefully, evilly recounted their tale,
of something they’d found that made them wail. 
In front of my new son-in-law Cody,
they made me look downright nasty and grody.
 
There was a little problem, you see; 
they pointed their fingers directly at me.
What they’d found was long and dark and frizzy; 
It could only belong to someone named Tizzie. 
 
Tim spouted off, “I found a hair.”
Molly chimed in, “in a lemon square.” 
Megan admitted, “I did, too."
Then Nancy whined , “I didn’t know what to do.”
 
Now, mind you, it didn’t stop them a bit
They just pulled out the hair and went on with it.
They scarfed down the lemon squares - every last one,
then picked on me just for fun.
 
At my age, I'm glad I still have hair.
I've never mentioned THEIR hair that I find everywhere....

So, friends and family,  please beware.
Carefully inspect your lemon squre.
And if you find a hair in there,
Tell someone who gives a care.
 
 


Hairy & merry
I remain

Tiz/Tizzie/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth
 



P.S.  If I knew how to make all the fonts the same, I would.  They are not that way for effect -- just due to my ignorance and laziness.


6 comments:

  1. Nancy, who always BEGS to be included in the blog, is now claiming she has been "slandered" and wants me to take her out to eat (not just anywhere to the University Club, no less!) to make reparation.

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  2. Bahahah that was pretty good. My favorite line:
    "I've never mentioned THEIR hair that I find everywhere...." I don't know what literary device you used but it sounds like it could be in a Dr. Seuss book!

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  3. From Tom Bridwell:

    You forgot the main holiday drink at the Bridwell's -apricot nectar with vanilla ice cream.

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  4. Hi! I am your cousin, Denise, from your Grandmother Katherine side, the mcCartys of Charleston. Just came across this site today. A few years back I sent your Grandmother's wedding write up from Pana to Marianne? Your mother showed me her 2 Haviland Cups and saucers and told me the story how they were obtained. The McCartys bought from the same traveling Haviland rep. 2. An old Irish tradition...the female head of a home would share a cup of tea from her fine China. Just the two. Please let me know who has these 2sets so I may send you the other half of the family, the ones I have.
    Thanks and talk soon,
    Denise Conaghan Snakard/Winnetka
    www.mydeared.wordpress.com
    (All my grandmother Minnie McCarty Whalen letters and postal cards from 1910...yes, you will come across Your grandmother, grandfather, Bridget Sullivan, Agnes and Hanna McCarty plus many more relatives.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Denise,
      What a surprise! I do remember you. I sent you an email earlier today. Hope you got it. My husband and I lived in Ireland a few years ago. Do you have any history of the McCartys in Ireland?

      I LOVED reading your book.
      Tizzie

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    2. Hi Tizzie, I did receive your email today. Answered too. O how lucky for you to have lived in Ireland for a few years. McCartys were very very private about their past. Mom would always say, "Grandma McCarty wouldn't allow anyone to speak of Ireland. It was a time she wished to forget." So, nothing. Oldest child, Daniel, died about age 3 and is buried in Ireland

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